The FSF's High Priority Projects list and Reverse Engineering Task List serve to foster the development of projects that are important for increasing the adoption and use of free software and free software operating systems. Some of the most important projects on our list are "replacement projects". These projects are important because they address areas where users are continually seduced into using nonfree software by the lack of an adequate free replacement. These are critical projects that need your help.

The Free JavaScript campaign is an ongoing effort to persuade organizations to make their Web sites work without requiring that users run any nonfree software. By convincing influential sites to make the transition, we raise awareness of the need for free software-friendly Web sites and influence the owners of other sites to follow.

When done correctly, "Secure Boot" is designed to protect against malware by preventing computers from loading unauthorized binary programs when booting. In practice, this means that computers implementing it won't boot unauthorized operating systems -- including initially authorized systems that have been modified without being re-approved.

This could be a feature deserving of the name, as long as the user is able to authorize the programs she wants to use, so she can run free software written and modified by herself or people she trusts. However, we are concerned that Microsoft and hardware manufacturers will implement these boot restrictions in a way that will prevent users from booting anything other than Windows. In this case, we are better off calling the technology Restricted Boot, since such a requirement would be a disastrous restriction on computer users and not a security feature at all.

Microsoft uses draconian law to put Windows, the world's most-used operating system, completely outside the control of its users. Neither Windows users nor independent experts can view the system's source code, make modifications or fixes, or copy the system. This puts Microsoft in a dominant position over its customers, which it takes advantage of to treat them as a product.

Windows comes with plenty of "features" Microsoft won't tell you about. Because Windows is proprietary software, you can't modify Windows or see how it is built, which means Microsoft can use its operating system to exploit users and benefit special interests. Windows 10's privacy policy asserts the privilege to sell almost any information it wants about users. And starting with Windows 10, Microsoft will begin forcing lower-paying users to test less-secure new updates before giving higher-paying users the option of whether or not to adopt them.

If we want to defang surveillance programs like PRISM, we need to stop using centralized systems and come together to build an Internet that's decentralized, trustworthy, and free "as in freedom." Check out the surveillance campaign area to get involved with the effort to make the Web in general safer and from surveillance.

On an individual level, we also need to start encrypting our personal communication to make bulk surveillance much more difficult and to protect the people we communicate with. Try Email Self-Defense, our beginner's guide to email encryption, to get started in less than an hour.

Free software is simply software that respects our freedom — our freedom to learn and understand the software we are using. Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place by proprietary software, and so using free software lets you join a global community of people who are making the political and ethical choice assertion of our rights to learn and to share what we learn with others.

The GNU operating system is a complete operating system made entirely of free software. Millions of people are using GNU every day to
edit their documents, browse the web, play games, and handle their
email, or as part of a GNU/Linux system on their home computer. Even people who have never heard of it use GNU everyday, because it powers many of the sites
they visit and services they use. Learn more about GNU, and support progress on fully free operating systems by volunteering or donating to the FSF.

Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) robs us of control over the technology we use and the culture we live in. DRM and the DMCA can make it illegal to share an article, back-up your kids' favorite DVD, or move your music from one player to another. Since DRM is inherently incompatible with free software, it also excludes free software users from equal participation in culture. Now, we are facing a new threat: DRM in HTML5. Millions of Internet users came together to defeat SOPA/PIPA, but now Big Media moguls are going through non-governmental channels to try to sneak digital restrictions into every interaction we have online.

The PlayOgg campaign (playogg.org) promotes the use of free audio and video formats unencumbered by patent restrictions, rather than MP3, QuickTime, Windows Media,
and AAC, whose patent problems threaten free software and hinder progress. We also
promote the use of the new "video tag" standard as an alternative to
Adobe Flash for embedding audio and video in webpages. Find out more about PlayOgg at playogg.org or at the campaign wiki. You can also join the PlayOgg volunteer team to push companies and services to use Ogg by joining the mailing list.

Software patents create a legal nightmare for all software developers and pose particular problems for the free software movement. So as the FSF campaigns for formats that are free of software patents, we also work on the more fundamental task of ending software patents entirely, through legal and legislative action. Learn more at EndSoftPatents.org, see the wiki, join the action alert mailing list.

Our OpenDocument campaign fights for the use of free formats in government
documents, pushing governments to adopt policies requiring that all digital public documents and information be stored and distributed in formats that are standard, open, and
royalty-free. OpenDocument Format (ODF) is one such format. Get
involved and take action against Microsoft's Open XML.

Hardware manufacturers are often negligent in offering support for free software. Our hardware directory helps people identify hardware to buy that works with their free software operating system. It is also an important part of the FSF's ongoing work to persuade hardware vendors to respect free software users. For more information on the FSF's plans, read our whitepaper: The road to hardware free from restriction, or see its most recent revisions on its LibrePlanet wiki page.

The BIOS is a computer's Basic Input/Output System, which boots the operating system and provides the interface between it and the hardware components. Though users are rarely aware of the BIOS, its foundational role makes it a user freedom chokepoint; if it is not free, users cannot trust it not to modify their computers on behalf of the company that wrote it. Our campaign for a Free BIOS promotes free BIOSes like Libreboot and librecore. Explore their Web sites to learn how to install a free BIOS or get involved in development and testing or read more from the FSF. The FSF is also pushing for the creation of a laptop with a free BIOS.